Fresh Ideas « 20K Group

Summer Camp, Adult-Style: Week Two, 06.18.2013

Posted in 20K Group, Amy Carl, Events, Summer Camp | No Comments »

As summer wears on, the days of the week can seem to blend together, and the humidity can make you feel like you’re walking through pudding. But summer also means that there are dozens and dozens of opportunities each day to celebrate the sunshine, good friends and cold beverages – and the beauty of air conditioning. Dive on in to week two of our Summer Camp, Adult-Style guide, and let us know what events you CANNOT miss in the comments section.

Houston Institute for Culture’s Juneteenth Celebration, featuring CJ Chenier: Wednesday, June 19

The Miller Outdoor Theatre invites you to join in Houston’s Juneteenth Celebration, with a little fais do do led by CJ Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band. The celebration and commemoration of the 150^th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation starts starts at 7 p.m., Free tickets for the covered seating area will be available on the day of the performance at the box office from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. until they sell out. Open seating on the hill is always available.

UHD presents Thursday Concerts at Discovery Green: Thursday, June 20

If you do just one thing this week, it should be the Thursday concert at Discovery Green. The Suffers will be rocking out with their contagious blend of reggae, ska and soul, and if you’ve never heard Kam Franklin wail, you’re seriously missing out on one of the city’s best voices. Chase Hamblin and the Roustabouts will be jamming on the Anheuser Busch Stage, too. The best part? It’s free! Bring along a picnic from Phonecia Specialty Foods and grab some wine at the Lake House to share with your neighbors (preferably, us) on the hill.

Summer Solstice Observation at Rothko Chapel: Friday, June 21

Have you ever celebrated the summer solstice? We haven’t, but there’s no time like the present. This Friday, Rothko Chapel will open from sunrise to sunset to celebrate the day the earth is most inclined towards the sun, also known as the longest day of the year. Sang Chod (Tibetan Smoke Offering) and Taiko Drumming will bookend the day’s activities.

2013 Houston Summer Boat Show: Wednesday, June 19 to Sunday, June 23

The Houston Summer Boat Show is an indoor playground for grown-ups (and kids) who dream of splish-splashing their way through summer. Get your nautical gazing and shopping on this week at Reliant Center: 11a.m. Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. on Sunday at Reliant Center.

Summer Camp, Adult-Style: Week One, 06.11.2013

Posted in 20K Group, Amy Carl, Events, Houston | 1 Comment »

Remember how excited you used to get at the start of the summer? School was out, the weather was perfect and the world was your oyster. And then, after a week or two of euphoria, the novelty wore off and the whining began.

“I’m booooooooored. There’s nothing to dooooooooo. AND IT’S SOOOOOO HOT.”

Even though most of us no longer get a summer vacation, there’s still no need for the summertime blues. We’ve decided to take the work out of play and compile a weekly list of upcoming events to help you stay busy (and maybe even learn a thing or two) this summer. Think of it as the adult version of summer camp!

St. Arnold’s Fall Season All Team Fundraiser: Wednesday, June 12

The Houston-area Team In Training participants invite you to join them on Wednesday, June 12th at Saint Arnold Brewing Company. Enjoy a variety of beers and ales all night, bid in a silent auction and, most importantly, support The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in the fight against blood cancers.

SMBHou: Online Influencer Marketing: Matching Brands and Influencers: Friday, June 14

What’s Old is New Again, 06.07.2013

Posted in Amy Carl, Branding | No Comments »

Classic brands are classic for a reason. Their products, services and ideologies have stood the test of time without relying on gimmicks or cheap tricks. However, times are changing, and even the most beloved brands have to adjust to evolving mediums and customer expectations to keep up with the Brand Joneses.

When modernizing a classic brand, marketers have to toe blurred lines between convention and innovation, tradition and novelty. Modernizing a brand takes much more than creating a Facebook Business Page and Twitter account, but yet we continue to see brands digging in their heels of convention. Below are the stories of how a few well-known industry stalwarts became the little (well, actually BIG) brands that could.

Rubbermaid/Pyrex

Not your mother’s Tupperware.

Not Just Another Three-Day Weekend, 05.30.2013

Posted in 20K Group, Debbie Fiorito, Houston, Memorial Day | 1 Comment »

I’m pretty sure my colleagues would agree when I write that the chief reason we love our business is the diversity of industries, people, projects and ideas we work with daily.

One recent example inspired this blog.

An event we have helped support for four years over the Memorial Day weekend has become something my husband and I really look forward to. Honestly, we didn’t initially think we were the types. Classic case of laziness or lack of understanding, I guess.

Every third Monday in May, our client, Dignity Memorial ®, a huge funeral home and cemetery operator, asks us to support their community Memorial Day commemoration at Memorial Oaks Cemetery out in West Houston. The event, which is timed to last exactly one hour, draws hundreds of loved ones of people buried at the cemetery and, as it turns out, lots of veterans and family members who love or have loved and lost veterans from throughout the Greater Houston area.

Flag

Y’all aren’t from around here, are you?, 05.24.2013

Posted in 20K Group, Amy Carl, Houston | No Comments »

You’ve probably heard that Houston was selected to host Super Bowl LI in 2017. And you’ve probably noticed that Houston is racking up the national accolades this year, including features in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. The convergence of a booming city on the cusp of “cooldom” and one of the world’s most popular sporting events is bound to bring in more visitors to Houston than we may have ever had. Here’s what we think they should know about the Bayou City:

Onward and Upward, 05.16.2013

Posted in 20K Group, Amy Carl, Education | No Comments »

It’s graduation season! Few ceremonies come close to the magnitude of graduating from any kind of educational institution, and the enthusiasm of new graduates is infectious. In the wake of our recent rebrand, we’re also feeling inspired! In the spirit of change, and in no particular order, here are some of our favorite graduation speeches.

David Foster Wallace: Kenyon College 2005

“There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, ‘Morning, boys. How’s the water?’ And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes ‘What is water?’” read more »

Fresh Look: Behind the Scenes of a Rebrand, 05.07.2013

Posted in 20K Group, Branding, Debbie Fiorito | No Comments »

My wonderful team has been burning a lot of midnight oil refreshing our 20K Group brand. “Fresh Air” is a more than a tagline for us. It’s become emblematic of how we like to breathe life into our work, our clients’ brands, and even our own lives. We’ve learned it’s easy for that air to stagnate—hence, our “rebrand.”

We do this kind of thing for a living, so you’d think it would have been pretty easy for us. Boy, were we wrong. It’s a huge challenge agreeing on colors, a look, a feel and a tone that we believe represents where we’ve been, the culture we are today and the kind of firm we hope to be in the future. We don’t intend to change our mark every couple of years, so this rebrand needs to be modern enough to reflect current times, but also timeless to give the investment longevity.

So, we started, I think, with the way our team have been engaging in conversations online, especially via Twitter and Facebook. It’s alive, lively and connected with the community we care about. Second, we approached Evan O’Neil—a talented thinker, ponderer, intellectual and really, really good designer. He got into our heads and figured out how we visualized fresh air and the lightness of clear messaging. Thank you, Evan. It was no easy task, and we know it.

Then, Courtenay, Amy, Patrick and I set about choosing the words, order and tone that we think represents who 20K Group is today. It’s not by accident that our new website is very clean, very simple. We work very hard at helping our clients sift through mountains of information, research and dialogue to agree on simple, memorable messages about their organizations.

I’m ecstatic to say that one of our colleagues really nailed it when she came into the office one day and said she had introduced herself at a breakfast as: “My name is Courtenay Siegfried. I work at 20K Group. We help our clients be better known and better understood.”

Ta Da. Welcome to the refreshed 20K Group.

- Debbie Fiorito

President and Founder

Breath of Funky Fresh Air, 05.03.2013

Posted in 20K Group, Houston, Patrick Boylan | No Comments »

This month’s field trip was hard work. As the hectic month wore on, we found ourselves postponing it again, and again… and again. But, we buckled down, completed our work to our exacting standards and allowed ourselves to get some fresh air. As usual, we were glad we did – this time, under Patrick’s direction.

Our first stop on this month’s field trip was the famously quirky Beer Can House, located at 222 Malone Street. A monument to longtime owner John Milkovisch’s passion for beer, the shimmering house is a sight to see on sunny days. Once we got over the initial “wow” factor, the sheer magnitude and detail of the project set in. Fences, awnings and spaces where grass would ordinarily grow are all occupied by meticulously trimmed and arranged beer cans. When Ripley’s Believe It Or Not visited the house, they estimated that about 50,000 beer cans adorn the structure. John’s wife, Mary, had this to say about her unusual residence: read more »

It’s National Volunteer Week! How are you going to give back?, 04.25.2013

Posted in 20K Group, Houston, Social Responsibility | No Comments »

According to the 2012 Census, about a quarter of Americans volunteer, and those individuals spent a median of 50 hours in selfless service each year. In addition to helping their communities, those that volunteer tend to be healthier and happier than their peers. National Volunteer Week, established in 1974 to celebrate volunteerism of all kinds, is a great time to recognize those around you who donate their time to the community and get involved yourself.

Volunteering: good for others, good for you.

At 20K, we try to give back as often as we can. Our founder and vice president have been lifelong advocates for both local and global communities. Some of the Houston-based organizations they’ve donated their time to are: read more »

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